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I know, I know—it’s not even really mid-July yet. The Fourth of July was last week, for crying out loud! You’re probably thinking, “But I’m not even fully healed from my sunburn yet!”

While that may be true, there are three important reasons to start planning back-to-school/fall promotions right now:

1)    Back-to-school is one of the biggest times for shopping in the entire year;

2)    Back-to-school shopping takes place from July to September, so it has already started;

3)    Retailers are making promotional plans for back-to-school right now, so you should too!

Back-to-school season isn’t just a time to market children’s books—it’s a time for fresh starts (and last-chance indulgences) for everyone. And let’s not forget who has the pocketbook: PARENTS. It’s not all about what the kids need, you know!

Below are a few takes you can use to market your book—regardless of genre—during the back-to-school season!

Last-Chance Summer Promotions:

There’s a reason summer vacation resorts lower their rates at the end of summer and early fall—it’s to capitalize on all those shoulda-woulda vacationers who felt like they missed out on living up the summer months! How can you use this to market your book? This is a great one for that terrific beach read—the biography of that Olympic-medalist athlete, or the mystery novel with just a touch of decadent smut! Connect with vacation resorts or tourist shops to sell your book, or connect with a travel agency to throw in a copy of your book with every vacation package they sell!

Mommy-Needs-a-Break Promotions:

I’m not a mommy, but I remember my own parents (many years ago) loving back-to-school time because a) they didn’t have to pay for all-day childcare during the school year; and b) they knew we were occupied with constructive activities, and no longer needed to worry about any shenanigans we were getting into involving a neighborhood cat (well…at least until 3:30). While back-to-school seems to be all about the kids, this is also a great time to connect with parents looking to give themselves a little indulgence; they need it! If you’ve got a great self-help book on personal affirmation, connect with a spa person and sell it in a spa package. Connect with some great mommy bloggers, and see if you can do something together!

Fresh-Start Promotions:

Back-to-school isn’t just a fresh start for kids—parents are also familiar with that nostalgic fresh-start feeling we get in the fall. This is a great time to market books that can be converted to classes or personal development books. If you have a book on living a gluten-free lifestyle, consider teaching a short class with recipes and shopping alternatives for new gluten-free families. If you’re a piano teacher who has written a biography on a famous concert pianist, consider giving a free copy to every new piano student you get between July and September.

Authors, what methods have you used to market your books at back-to-school time? What is the most successful idea you would pass on to other authors?

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